Krampusnacht - This is an Austrian celebration that I personally find unusual, although I’m sure the Austrians wouldn’t agree. Krampus is an animalistic demon that prowls around Central Europe this time of year. He has “flaming coals for eyes, matted fur and twisting stag horns who slaps people with birch twigs and kidnaps children in a large sack or casket so he can later drown or eat them”. This is the antithesis of Santa and I’m not sure why Austria celebrates such a creature, but it is clearly part of their culture as they dedicate the whole day for their celebrations with parades and people who enjoy dressing up as Krampus.
World Trick Shot Day - Created by the Harlem Globetrotters who pretty much created trick shots, this day is celebrated on the second Tuesday of December. If you look online you should be able to find their online celebration of Trick Shots.
National Blue Jeans Day - On this day in 1880, Levi Strauss designed the first blue jeans. They didn’t look as fancy as they do these days, of course. They were strictly for working in. But they lasted a long time and were comfortable so they were very popular.
National Communicate With Your Kids Day - While I am sure that you communicate with your kids every day whether you want to or not, there is a more specific kind of communication that the creators have in mind. This is your opportunity to talk about more challenging topics in order to open (and keep open) the lines of communication between you and your kids so that hopefully when they are older, they will still be willing to talk to you about serious subjects.
World Soil Day - This is a United Nations Day dedicated by the Global Soil Partnership with a theme of “Caring for the Planet starts from the Ground”. We don’t think about the soil too much unless we work with it daily like farmers. Many places on this planet suffer from severely degraded soil because of over-farming, damage due to war and natural disasters, and general inappropriate soil management. Our food comes from the soil, people. We have to protect it. 33% of the soil worldwide is already unusable. Lets protect the rest.
National Commute With Your Baby Day - I’ve seen mention of this day on several sites dating back at least four years. However, I do not see anywhere any description of what it is about and why we are to celebrate it. Usually in this case I wouldn’t include it in my blog, but it is an intriguing day. Do you have a baby? Will you be commuting somewhere with your baby? I confess that my baby days are long over so I guess I will not be able to celebrate. Unless the baby can be a stuffed one. We might still have a baby doll around here somewhere that can stand in for the real thing.
National Sachertorte Day – A Sachertorte is a type of chocolate cake that was invented by Franz Sacher, an Austrian, in 1832 for Prince Wenzel von Metternich. The story goes that the Prince asked his personal chef to create a special dessert for some important guests. The chef was ill so the job fell to 16 year old apprentice Franz Sacher who was in his second year of training. While we know that the guests loved the cake, we don't hear about it again until Sacher's son, Eduard Sacher, became a chef and perfected his father's creation in 1876 when he opened the Hotel Sacher in Vienna.
AFL-CIO Day – On this day in 1955 the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merged together into the largest federation of unions in the entire United States. For many years they represented nearly all of the unionized workers in the country.
Bathtub Party Day – I cannot find out where this day came from or what its' origins are but it's a fun day to celebrate anyway. You can either take a long, leisurely soak in your tub all by yourself or you can invite some friends. If your bathtub, like mine, isn't big enough for more than one, maybe you can fill it with ice and some beverages to share with your guests instead.
Repeal of Prohibition Day – On this day in 1933, prohibition was ended with the 21st Amendment to the Constitution. Prohibition was supposed to protect families, women and children from the effects of alcohol abuse but it didn't work and in fact, made things worse. It was found that child neglect and violence increased during the years of Prohibition so there wasn't much arguing when Congress decided to repeal it.
International Ninja Day – This is a day to dress like a ninja and spend the day sneaking around making sure no one sees you. You can also celebrate by checking out the schools of martial arts near you to see if one of them appeals to you. You, too, can learn to be a ninja, or at least, more ninja-like than you are now.
International Volunteer Day for Economic & Social Development – This day was created by the United Nations and is designed to offer opportunities for volunteers and volunteer organizations to make their contributions to society known at local, national and international levels.
No comments:
Post a Comment